Historic Marine Way Pump Station Rehabilitation

The City of Delray Beach selected WGI to continue with the Sea-Level Rise (SLR) initiative started at the Veterans Park (to the south of Atlantic Avenue) and the City Marina (to the north of the project area). Both Veterans Park and the City Marina Projects had been designed previously by WGI to provide increased seawall elevation along the Intracoastal Waterway with the design flexibility and ability to accommodate two additional feet of freeboard. The flood criteria for the project consisted of:

1. Seawall design for sea level rise for both the existing (observed and measured) King Tide conditions and for future +2.0 feet of additional SLR.

2. Flood design of critical structures such as electrical panels, emergency generators, and pumps have been elevated above the existing identified FEMA flood zone elevation.

3. The proposed seawalls have been designed to resist the current SLR and future estimate of (+~2.0 feet).

4. The proposed seawalls are designed to mitigate the impacts of the groundwater response to the SLR and semi-annual King Tide events by increasing the flownet path between the Intracoastal and the marine way upland.

As the project was within the downtown Delray Beach Historic District, the pump station was to be as unobtrusive as possible, which led the design team to a below-grade vault solution. The pump station consisted of a series of pumps yielding a total peak discharge of 40,000 gallons per minute (89 cubic feet per second). To minimize work within the Intracoastal waterway, the proposed seawall improvements for the pump discharge bay and the existing subaqueous utilities were constructed in the upland behind the existing seawall. Phasing for the project required the pump p and utility bays to be completed prior to building the new (elevated) seawall to maintain flood protection during construction. The Marine Way Pump Station Project corridor includes upgraded utilities, roadways, replacement of existing recreational docks, and landscape and lighting.